HSA is an acronym for Health Savings Account.
A HSA is a trust account having preferential tax treatment. A HSA is an account having as beneficiary a real person, and a trustee other than the consumer. Funds in an HSA receive preferential tax treatment. Use of funds in the consumer's HSA to pay certain consumer's medical costs may also obtain preferential tax status. Preferential tax status means less or no tax (of any type, such as income, value added, or sales) on the consumer result from payment by funds in the consumer's HSA. An HSA account must be managed held by trustee (a legal entity) other than the consumer. Statute authorizes banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and a consumer's employer to be an HSA trustee for consumers HSAs. However, the consumer beneficiary may specify to the trustee how to invest and dispense funds in the consumer's HSA. For example, the consumer may instruct the trustee to pay the consumer's medical expenses from the HSA.
HDHP is an acronym for High Deductible Health Plan. Under current U.S. law, a consumer is only entitled to an HSA if the consumer has a qualifying HDHP, that is, an HDHP that meets the requirements for the consumer to also have a HSA. Under current U.S. law, a consumer's HSA can only pay for expenses and payments for medical costs for the consumer not otherwise covered by the consumer's qualifying HDHP qualify for tax preferential treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,358 to Ogilvie teaches providing tools and techniques for directing funds on behalf of a consumer to a specified account as a beneficial side-effect of a purchase of merchandise or services.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,865 to Hardesty teaches a rebate program for the benefit of participating individuals such as wage earners. Hardesty teaches that participating individuals apply and are approved and are issued a card with an identifiable account number using credit approval systems. Hardesty's card may include debit, smart, consumer loyalty, and security features. Hardesty discloses calculating and transferring a rebate to the participant's account in a trust fund.
United States patent publication 20020035529 to Tooke teaches systems and techniques for managing resources for a health care consumer by inserting taxable resources into a health savings account, inserting nontaxable resources into the HSA, and enabling the health care consumer to access the health savings account to reimburse a health care provider.
The teachings of Oglivie, Hardesty, and Tooke are incorporated herein by reference.